GB Plus Me Pt 5: It's About Time
by Catietheawesome
Summary: You go back in time and change one little thing about your own past. But then you come to find out that one little decision can change everything...and not for the better. Story of my life.
1. And So It Begins

**Okay, this story's going to be a little odd, so bare with me. Oh, and just so you know, there's no Ghostbusting involved in this story. The only thing in this story that has to do with Ghostbusters at all is Egon. Sorry. But it's a good story, I promise!**

* * *

**Jennifer**

Before I start this story, I feel like I should explain myself. A lot of you may be wondering, "Why does she love Egon?" Don't deny it, some of you are thinking that. Okay, maybe you're not. But still, I feel like I should explain why. I know, I know, you're telling me to skip the gushy stuff and get to the story. Well, this is a romance story, so suck it up.

Okay, I'll be honest, Egon's no ladies' man, that's for sure. I know it, you know it, and he knows it. But let's look at facts: he's sweet, he's respectful, he's intelligent, and in my opinion, he's handsome. And he loves me. That's the important thing.

I'll admit it, I do find myself comparing Egon to Alex occasionally. It's not like I'm still in love with Alex. I'm a big girl now, ready for a real man. Before Alex left me, I was still a little girl, a child. When I found out he was cheating on me, naturally I was furious. But I also got a reality check that day. I realized that day that Alex never really _cared_ about me. Maybe he did once, but when he got wrapped up in work, he grew into this callous, shallow guy. But stupid me, I was swept away by his suave charm and his striking good looks. I was still a little girl looking for my prince. I was Rapunzel with my long blonde hair, just sitting around waiting for Prince Charming to come ride me away into the sunset. Turns out I was in the wrong fairy tale. I should have realized that a very sweet, very smart frog had been waiting around for me to turn him into the prince he is on the inside. Not that Egon looks like a frog or anything.

So I finally opened my eyes and saw what had been right in front of me the whole time. Egon and I got married, happily ever after, end of the story, right?

Nope. It was only the beginning.

I moved here to New York from Texas all those years ago to find excitement and adventure. Well I got it all right. Pardon my French, but life's a bitch. I would have been perfectly satisfied with just a simple, quiet, event-free life with Egon. No drama, no terror, no world destroying monster to fight. Of course, that would have been too easy.

I was just starting to think that maybe, just maybe, my life was beginning to settle down and I could just relax. Give me the simple life, you know?

And now...this. A baby.

Don't get me wrong, I'm thrilled. Who wouldn't be? Moreover, I'm happy for Egon because, thanks to me, he never got to have a family. But don't you think that at forty six years of age, I am just a little too old to be having a baby?

So there we were, the three of us, sitting around the living space in the upstairs of the firehouse. Alice was in a wooden kitchen chair, while Egon and I were sitting side by side on the worn out old sofa. Alice's gaze darted back and forth between Egon and me. Finally she cleared for throat, adjusted her glasses, and said, "Well, I don't have to ask _how_ it happened, so I'll move on to the second question..._when_ did it happen?"

"The doctor says I'm two or three months along," I answered quietly.

Alice raised an eyebrow. "You mean you've been pregnant for three months and you _just now_ noticed?"

"Sure, Al, make your dopey mother feel stupid," I sighed, resting my chin on my hand.

"Sorry, Mom," Alice amended. "I just thought you would have noticed before now."

"I noticed the symptoms," I said. "I just...couldn't put the pieces together. I've always been bad at puzzles."

There was silence for a moment. Then Egon spoke up. "There are, as you know, risks to a woman carrying a child at your mother's age."

_Great,_ I thought jokingly. _So I'm dumb AND old._

As if reading my thoughts, Egon added, "No offense, of course."

"Right." I blew a strand of hair out of my face.

"Just so we're all on the same page here," said Alice, "what are the risks?"

"Well, the chances for premature birth or stillbirth are higher," Egon listed. "As well as miscarriage. There's also the chance of Down syndrome."

"And autism," I added. "My cousin Charlie has autism."

"Not to mention that your mother's body might not be able to undergo the physical stress of delivering a baby at this point," Egon pointed out.

I sat up straighter at this and said, jokingly miffed, "I can handle stress. I wouldn't be a psychiatrist if I couldn't."

"You're a strong woman," said Egon, peering at me through his glasses, "but it would be extremely painful."

"I delivered Alice and her big head," I countered.

"Hey!" Alice exclaimed.

I winked at her. "Just kidding, sweetheart. So, what are we going to do about this?"

"Is there anything we can do about it?" Alice asked. "Short of abortion or something?"

"I do not approve of abortion," I said flatly. "You know that. It may be alright for some people, but definitely not for me."

"I agree," said Egon, nodding solemnly.

"I never said anything about abortion," said Alice, shaking her head. "I was just wondering if there was some way we could insure that the baby was healthy."

I scoffed. "Not unless there's some magical method of going back in time and making the baby come when I'm younger. So unless there's a way of reversing the aging process, I don't think so."

"In my opinion, I believe we should just hope for the best, that the child will be alright regardless of-" Egon began to say, but I cut him off. "You call me old one time and I'll-!"

"You know," said Alice slowly, interrupting my threat, "_that_ we may be able to do."

I froze, staring at her in bewilderment. "What are you talking about? Reverse the aging process?"

"Not...exactly," said Alice, fiddling with her glasses. "More like...change time to where the baby is born earlier."

"Alice, what are you talking about?" I asked, still confused.

She looked up at me. "I think I need to show the both of you something."


	2. Set The Clock Back

**Okay, I'm super proud of this chapter. And NrdyGrl, I'm don't know what "archiving" means. Sorry! Why don't you private message me instead?**

* * *

"I call it-well, Eddie Stantz and I call it the neuron splitter," said Alice, as she, Egon, and I stared at the giant metal hoop. "It's a multi-dimensional portal. Eddie and I built it. It can go to any of the six dimensions in existence, though I wouldn't recommend going to dimensions one or two, considering that organisms on the human complexity level couldn't survive there for an instant..." Alice's voice trailed off.

Egon was inspecting every inch of the apparatus with a certain amazement. "This invention is incredible. It's years ahead of modern scientific advances. How did the two of you ever build this?"

Alice shrugged. "Molecular mechanics, but basically we just figured out to procure our own artificial cross rip, using the ionization rates from the manifestation points of the ghosts we catch. At least, that's how we figured out the sixth dimension by itself. Then we just made educated guesses at the rates of dimensions one, two, four, and five. Three, of course, was already supplied."

"Yes, of course," said Egon, now studying the numbered keypad adorning the side of the machine. "I'd like to see your notes sometime; perhaps with this new information, we can discover and explore new planes of existence."

"What the hell are you two talking about?" I finally blurted.

Egon and Alice looked up at me, startled, as if they had forgotten I was there. "In case you brainiacs haven't noticed, I'm kinda dumb here," I continued. "You're gonna have to speak English so I can understand what's going on."

"You're not dumb," said Egon. See what I mean? He's very sweet. He's kind of like Sayid on _Lost_, you know, serious exterior but gentle on the inside.

"Sorry, Mom," said Alice. "Basically, if we just press button number four, you'll be able to access any point in time you want."

"So...this thing is like a time machine?" I said, staring up at the neuron splitter in amazement.

"Correction: it's a multi-dimensional portal," Alice replied. "But if you travel to dimension four, or Time, it is possible to explore various points in the past, present, or even future."

"Uh...yeah," I said, scratching my head. "That's what I meant."

"So what was your idea?" Egon asked Alice.

"Well..." said Alice awkwardly. "I'm not sure if this will have any effect on the baby's date of birth...but I was thinking that maybe if you and Mom got...together earlier in life than you did...then maybe the baby would be born earlier in time. I don't really know, I'm just grasping at straws here."

I thought for a second. "Maybe...but how would we do that?"

"I'm not quite sure about the logistics," said Alice, rubbing her chin. "I haven't gotten to experiment with the features of the splitter yet, except with the sixth dimension. But if I'm correct, the course of history can be changed. Time is very malleable that way."

"So what you want us to do is," said Egon, figuring out Alice's plan, "go into this machine and alter the past?"

"Yes. Exactly," said Alice, nodding.

I looked at Egon and shrugged. "I think it sounds like a good idea. What do you think?"

Egon eyed the neuron splitter. "Hm...alright," he said finally.

"Great!" I exclaimed, clapping my hands. "Let's take this baby for a test drive."

Alice turned to the keypad, which resembled the ones you find in elevators. She pushed button number four, and like magic, the machine started to whir and hum. The hollow center of the metal hoop generated a vibrant spiral on the inside, sort of like the cross rip we'd closed two years ago, except that one had been less colorful and much more menacing. "Okay," said Alice. "All you do is step through the vortex. Don't worry, it doesn't hurt or anything. Just make sure you're back before an hour, or the portal will close. When you get to the other side, you'll find the fourth dimension."

I raised my eyebrows. "And after that?"

Alice stared into the rainbow swirl. "I don't know."

I blinked and looked at Egon. He looked back at me, as if to say, _I don't know either_. I swallowed and put on a brave smile, trying to channel my inner Ray. "Well, I guess we'll just find out then, won't we? Let's go!"

I grabbed Egon's wrist, took a deep breath, walked straight through the spinning rainbow and disappeared into Time.

* * *

Since I know that Jeremy and Alice already told you what going through the splitter feels like, I'm going to skip that part. Might as well just get to what the fourth dimension is like.

In all honesty, it was a Hall of Records. It was a dimly lit room with endless rows of filing cabinets. And right in front of where Egon and I had come out of the wormhole connecting the two dimensions, was a large mahogany librarian's desk, complete with tabletop lamp and cheesy coffee mug.

The librarian herself was seated behind the desk, fast asleep. Her head was rested on the desk like a pillow. She was an old withered lady, with light grey hair tied up in a bun on the top of her head and was wearing a aquamarine knit sweater. I couldn't be sure what she was wearing on her bottom half. But I certainly hoped something was there.

Egon and I watched the librarian snore for a few moment, her chest rising and falling with every snort, grunt, and wheeze. Finally, I whispered, "Should we wake her up?"

Egon looked at me momentarily, then he finally just reached out and rang the bell on the desk, adorned with a sign stating: "For assistance, please ring twice." _Ding, ding._

The old lady woke with a start. "My stars and garters!" she exclaimed. She blinked up at us, took the reading glasses hung from around her neck and perched them on her nose. "I'm so sorry," she apologized, placing a hand over her heart. "I was just taking a little five hundred year catnap...well anyhoo, how may I help you?"

"Uh..." I cleared my throat. "Who are you?"

"I'm Mother Time," the elderly woman replied.

"Don't you mean _Father_ Time?" Egon asked.

Mother Time chuckled as she opened a drawer in her desk and pulled out a framed photograph. "My husband passed on two millennia ago, leaving me to take care the filing and everything. Well actually, I did that when he was alive too...but it was so nice having him around to keep me company." She sighed and stared reminiscently at the picture. Then she slightly shook her head and looked at us again. "But didn't you want something?"

"Er...yes," I said, remembering the reason we were there. "We'd like to go to the past."

"Ah, an excellent choice!" said Mother Time. "Now, which period in time would you like to visit? We have an excellent selection, everything from the Dawn of Time, to Yesteryear! May I suggest the Elizabethan Era? Or the Colonial Period?" She lowered a voice to a whisper. "Your health insurance will not cover your hospital bills if you happen to contract malaria, diphtheria, or the Plague."

"Uh...actually, we were thinking a bit closer to home," I replied. "Like maybe...huh. Which year should we go to? I didn't really think about that."

"What about 1996?" Egon suggested.

I snorted. "You're not getting off that easy, Spengler. You're stuck with me from beginning to end." I turned to Mother Time with a confident smile. "Take us to 1984, please."

"You got it," said Mother Time with a devilish grin. Suddenly, a large lever popped out behind her desk. "You better hold on to something."

"Why?" Egon asked.

"Because here we go!" Mother Time pushed the lever to the left.

The desk and the patch of floor underneath it lurched to the left, as if it were on roller coaster rails. Egon and I would've gone flying backward if we hadn't been clutching the side of the desk.

"Whoopee!" Mother Time squealed and threw her arms into the air as we went zooming through the library. Behind her, the filing cabinets were flying by in a blur.

"Stop this crazy thing!" I exclaimed.

Mother Time obliged and pulled the lever back to the middle gear, and the floor came to a sudden halt. Egon and I and caught our breaths and tried to stand up straight, ignoring the wobbliness in our legs.

"Wasn't that a hoot?" Mother Time slapped her knee with ebullience. "I haven't had that much fun since Sparta ruled the Greek Empire. Those were some wild days, I'll tell you."

"What-what was that?" I gasped, still in stock from the wild ride.

"Just my little way of saving eons of walking," said Mother Time cheerfully. "Isn't it a blast?"

"No, it's a heart attack!" I sputtered.

"Oh dear," said Mother Time, inspecting a small plaque on the side of one of the filing cabinets. "We overshot our mark a bit. We'll have to go back the other way-

"NO!" Egon and I shouted simultaneously.

Mother Time titled. "Just my little joke. Here we are, the 1980's. Now..." The mobile unit started moving backward (slowly, thankfully) between two rows of filing cabinets. "1981...82...83...ah, here we are! 1984!" She opened the drawer marked 1984, reached inside and started looking through the files inside. "And let's see, shall we say, September?"

I nodded. "That sounds about right."

"And now, what day?" she asked, opening the file, which I noticed was filled with a oodles of 8x11 color, laminated photographs."

"Uh...it doesn't matter," I said.

"Well, here you go," she said, pulling out a random photograph and handing it to me. "Now, which one of you is going?"

"Which one?" Egon asked.

"Only one time traveler at a time is allowed inside a time frame," said Mother Time, shrugging. "Sorry. Not my rules, they were Dad's."

I shrugged at Egon. "I'll go."

"Are you sure?" Egon asked, looking a little nervous.

I smiled and touched his face. "Hey. You know me. I never get stuck, right?"

Egon nodded, still looking a little unsure.

I stared at the photo for the first time. It was from the point of view of someone standing in a doorway, staring out into a hallway. I realized I had seen the place before. It was from the doorway of the sleeping quarters in our very own firehouse.

"Okay...what do I do?" I asked Mother Time. "How do I...get in there?"

"Just touch the tip of your nose to the picture's surface. The rest of you will follow," she said cryptically.

"Um...okay." I shrugged and slowly brought the photo to my face.

As soon my skin touched the photo, I felt a great lurch. Not like the uncomfortable roller coaster like lurch I'd felt before, when that crazy woman had taken us for a joyride, but more like my body was being vacuumed into the portrait.

Suddenly, the flow changed, and I was regurgitated back out of the paper. I looked around wildly.

The scenery around me had changed. I was standing in the bedroom of the firehouse. And the year was 1984.


	3. Shadows of My Past

**Yes, I finally updated. God damn you, writer's block!**

* * *

I looked around the room and blinked a couple of times, just make to sure I wasn't seeing things. But sure enough, there I was, in the old bedroom. There were four beds in the room, two on each side of the room. I could even pick out which bed had belonged to which one of us, the Ghostbusters. Ray's was nearest the door, and the sheets were messy. I remembered that Ray would always jump out of bed and race to the pole excitedly when the bell rang, never pausing to make his bed.

Egon's was next to his, by the window. I could tell that it was his because the blankets were pretty neat, hardly mussed at all. Somehow, he always had time to get up, put on his glasses, pull the sheets together, and get to the pole in plenty of time. Then there was Peter's bed, which was directly across from Egon's, and my old bed was next to Pete's.

I briefly wondered why there were only _four_ beds. Where was Winston's cot? Then I recalled that Winston wasn't hired until October. It was September now. Winston hadn't been hired yet. In fact, the business was probably just barely starting up.

For the first time, I realized that I was still holding the piece of paper in my hand. I looked at it. The image printed on it had changed. Now it was the interior of the Hall of Records. I guessed it was my ticket back once I had finished my business here in the past.

I heard boards creaking in the hallway. I looked up just in time to see someone pass by the doorway. He had brown hair, glasses, and was wearing a lab coat.

Egon.

I stuck my head out of the room and watched his retreating back. Then he disappeared into another room.

From where I was, he looked the same in feature. Same brown hair, same brown eyes, same wire rim glasses...same big feet, same tall, lanky form.

And yet, I was surprised. The twenty five year margin showed. A lot. I felt like I was looking at my son rather than my husband. I had known that in going back in time, Egon would be younger. But I didn't know that the difference would be this significant.

_Focus, Jennifer. You've got a job to do._

I made sure that no one was looking. Then I crept down the stairs.

As I had expected, Ecto-1 was gone. We must have been out on a run. The only person who was around was Janine, who was sitting at her desk, filing her nails. And of course, Egon, but he was upstairs.

Janine had her back to me so she didn't see me. I was starting to wonder what my next step was suddenly, the big green garage doors started to open. I stifled a gasp and silently rushed back up the stairs as the Ectomobile rolled in.

As the driver door opened, I heard a voice I easily recognized say, "Well, another spook for the books."

"Ray," I whispered to myself.

"Yep," agreed another familiar voice, coming from the passenger side. "And another five thousand for the petty cash stash." Peter.

"Is money all you think about, Venkman?" jeered a third voice that had climbed out of the back. This voice was female and all too close to home. I chuckled and shook my head, thinking about how youthful I'd been back then.

"No," replied Peter. I could practically hear the smirk on his face. "I also think about beautiful women, such as yourself."

The younger version of myself snorted. "Why don't you try out your cheap lines on Janine? I gotta take a shower."

"You do that," said Ray, and I heard the slam of his car door as he shut it. "Peter and I'll put the ghost away."

I heard footsteps as Peter, Ray, and younger Jennifer parted ways. I ducked behind a corner as she came up the stairs and into the living area. She started to head toward the bathroom.

I stepped out and exclaimed, "Jennifer!"

The girl jumped in surprise and whirled. "Don't scare me like tha-" she started to say, but then she stopped and looked at me confusedly. She studied my face carefully. I watched her as she looked at me "Who...are you?" she asked.

"Er..." I realized that this was going to take a lot of explaining. "I'm...you." I said dumbly.

The blond girl cocked her hip, crossed her arms, and stared at me, an eyebrow raised. "Eh...what?"

"I'm you. Older you. From the future!" Somebody please put me in a straightjacket right now!

"The future?!" younger Jennifer exclaimed. "Are you insane?!"

"Okay, honey, think about where you work," I said patiently. "Does my story really sound that crazy?"

"Well...no," the girl admitted. "But...how are you here?"

"I hitched a ride with Marty McFly. How do you think?! A time machine!" I exclaimed.

"What?" said the girl, looking confused. "Marty Mc-who?"

"You know, _Back to the Future_!" I said. "Oh wait. My bad. That movie came out in '85. Sorry!"

"Okay okay," said the young version of myself, holding up her hands. "No offense, but a time machine? That sounds a little too Michael Crichton."

"Okay, then you explain how I'm here." I stared her down. Man, I didn't realize how annoying I was. Maybe Peter was right...did I really just say that?

The girl sighed and took a seat on the couch. "Okay. I believe you."

"Good, because I need to tell you something," I said.

"What is it?"

I sighed and sat down next to her. I could smell a trace of sweat and ectoplasmic residue on her. "This...may sound a little odd."

"Opposed to everything to else that's been said in the last five minutes," said younger Jennifer.

I ignored that statement and continued. "You know Egon?"

"Egon? Sure I know Egon. Strange guy."

I nodded. "Yes, yes he is. But...there's something about him you should know. He...likes you."

The girl stared at me as if I was crazy or something. "Egon? Egon _Spengler_? The guy with the pompadour and the lab coat? That Egon?"

"Yes, how many Egons do you know?"

Jennifer looked at the doorway leading out into the hallway, then back at me. "Are...are you serious?"

"Yes. Completely."

"Egon...likes me?" Jennifer sounded as if someone had just told her that scientist had discovered that the moon was made from green cheese. "But...why?"

I shrugged. "Hey, you got me."

"Why are you telling me this?" Jennifer asked, looking at me sideways.

"Because...I want to save you from a horrible mistake. See, in the future, you're going to get married to Alex," I explained.

"I am?" Jennifer smiled bashfully.

"No! That's not good!" I exclaimed. "Because he's going to cheat on you and your heart will be broken and Egon will be alone until he's fifty!"

The smile was replaced by a scowl and a dangerous eyebrow raise. "Uh, excuse me? He's going to do what?"

"Cheat on you!" I said. "And you'll have wasted time you could have had with Eg-I mean, a nicer man who deserves you!"

"But why are you so intent on me ending up with Egon?" said Jennifer confusedly. "I mean, he's a nice guy and all but...I don't think I feel that way about him."

"Maybe not now," I said. "But if you knew him like I do...just give it some time. As a favor to me. Please?"

"Well...okay," said the girl slowly. "But don't expect anything, alright?"

"Fair enough. Thank you. Now go take a shower, you reek," I said.

The girl got up and walked to the bathroom dazedly. "I guess he's kind of cute..." she was muttering to herself.

I waited until the door shut and said to myself, "Damn, I'm good."

* * *

After I pushed my face into the paper, I found myself back in the Hall of Records. "Well, that was quick," said Mother Time pleasantly.

"What happened?" asked Egon.

I shrugged. "Oh, you know. Changed history. No big deal. What did you two do?"

"Mother Time was just explaining to me the theory of time warping and the space time continuum," said Egon. "You see-"

"That's sounds great, let's talk about it later," I said, cutting him off. "We need to get back now."

"Yes, yes, of course," said Mother Time as the lever popped out again. "Brace yourselves."

"You know, we could just walk," I said as I clutched the side of her desk and prepared for the reckless lurch.

Mother Time gripped the lever and prepared to push. "Where's the fun in that?"

After the ride was over, Egon and I staggered back to the portal. "Well, please come again!" called Mother Time. "I never get visitors!"

"Yeah, we'll do that," I said. "Bye."

And then we disappeared back into the neuron splitter.

* * *

"Alice, you are an absolute genius," I said, stepping out of the wormhole or whatever it's called. "This machine is amaz-Alice?"

I noticed that the room was empty. In fact, it looked as if no one had stepped foot in the place in years. The furniture was worn and breaking down. Spiderwebs dominated every corner of the room. Dust covered everything like snow. And if I wasn't mistaken, the floor was littered with mouse droppings. Gross.

"What happened?" I said, looking around at the room. "We were only gone-what, an hour?"

"I don't know," said Egon, looking around the room too. "It's apparent that this room has devoid of life for an exponential amount of time."

"That's impossible," I said. "We were just here. Alice was-where is she? Alice!"

But the atmosphere was deathly quiet.

"Alice!" I called again. "Hey, where are you?! Alice!" I looked at the couch where we had sat, discussing the baby. It was covered in a thick layer of dust and the upholstery was rotting away. In some spots, the fabric had been gnawed at by rats.

"Egon, look at this couch," I said, turning around. Then I noticed that something was missing. "Egon? Where's the machine? It just disappeared."

"Jennifer," said Egon from the window. "You need to see this."

"What?" I came up beside him and looked out the window. Then I saw what he meant. "Oh my God..."

It was a view of the street outside. But there weren't any cars driving, which was strange for New York. The streetlight perched on the sidewalk wasn't lit up, in fact, the bulb looked smashed. The building across the street was old and dilapidated. There appeared to be no people out and about. There appeared to be people at all.

But the eerie thing was the sky. When we had come into the building, it had been nighttime. The sky had been dark. But now the sky was lit up like was during the normal, only clouded like it is when there's a storm on the horizon. But the clouds weren't gray.

They were blood red.

"Egon," I said faintly. "What the hell is going on here?!"


	4. The Beginning of the End

"Where is everyone?!" I exclaimed, my eyes frozen on the lifeless cityscape outside the window. My yells echoed in the eerie silence. "There's...nothing out there! Nothing at all! It's like everyone just...disappeared! What happened?!"

Egon stared wordlessly, obviously trying to comprehend the situation like me. Then he reached into his pocket and pulled out an Apple iPhone.

I looked at the device in surprise. "When did you get a cell phone?"

"Not long ago," Egon replied distractedly, typing in his passcode and accessing the main app screen. He touched an icon and the screen shifted to various bars superimposed on black. The bars periodically changed length and changed color, from red to green to blue.

"Is that...a PKE meter?" I said in amazement.

Egon looked straight at me with a completely serious look and said, "Yes. There's an app for that." I'm not kidding! He actually said that! He wasn't making a joke or anything, he was being completely serious! I would've laughed if the situation hadn't been so grave.

"What's the reading?" I said as Egon studied the on-screen measurements.

"Hmm...odd," he muttered.

"What? _What?!_" My voice echoed slightly again in the creepy silence. Man, it was quiet around here...

"According to these valences, the surrounding area is almost completely devoid of life," he said, his brown eyes not leaving the screen for an instance. "However, there appears to be an unusually large quantity of paranormal activity."

"Like how much?" I said, giving the barren street outside another wary glance.

Egon finally put the phone back in his pocket. "Well, let's say that a Twinkie represents the normal amount of psychokin-"

"Hold on," I said, holding up a hand. "I think I've heard this speech before. Bottom line, there's a lot of ghosts about."

"Yes."

"But...but..." My mind was working furiously, trying to fathom what was going on. I didn't care about ghosts at the second. I cared about the fact that every form of intelligent life in New York had disappeared. "You're saying that everyone is...gone?"

Egon nodded slowly. "Yes."

On this terrifying syllable, an image filled my mind and left no room for any other thought: A girl with dark hair and bright green eyes hidden behind thick, rectangular glasses. Her skin was pale and her nose was round and button shaped, like my own. She was sitting in a large armchair cross-legged, reading a large tome. She looked happy and content...

"Alice," I breathed. And then I took off for the stairs.

"Jennifer! No!" I heard Egon call behind me, but I paid him no mind. All I could think was _I have to find her_.

Out of the living room. Down the stairs. Through the front hall. Burst through the wooden green garage doors. Raced onto the deserted pavement.

"AAAAAAAAALIIIIIIIIIICE!" I screeched into the silence. The sound reverberated against the surrounding buildings and bounced my own cries back at me. "AAAAAAAAALIIIIIIIIIICE!"

My heart was pounding furiously and fear pumped through my veins. My daughter, my dear daughter...Alice Denise Wilcox...the most important thing in the world to me, even more important than my husband, than life itself...she couldn't be gone.

"Alice!" My voice was weaker now, as I felt a growing lump in my throat. The corners of my eyes were burning. "Alice!"

Hands clutched my shoulders. "Jennifer, it's no use! She's g-"

I stared into those chocolate-colored eyes with a blaze in my own. "Don't you _dare_ say she's gone, Egon Spengler! Don't you _dare_!" My voice was cracking and my vision was blurring. Damn, I hate crying. "Your stupid app must be wrong! A person can't just disappear!" I buried my face in my hands.

Egon was frantically shushing me, but I didn't care if anyone heard my pathetic sobs. Not that there was anyone around to hear them. According to him and his stupid PKE app, everyone was gone. She was gone. My daughter.

"Jennifer, you have to be quiet, you might-" Egon's pleas faltered in a chilling silence.

I sniffled and looked up at him. "I might what?"

"_Don't...move_," he whispered.

I followed his gaze...and and met a ghastly sight.

We were surrounded.

Out of the shadows, the people crawled and limped toward us, their gazes unfocused and lifeless. It was as if their heads were in a fog. They made terrible groaning noise, and a few even drooled at the mouth.

"Egon," I squeaked, my voice about three octaves too high. "What is this?...It's like they're...not human."

"I don't think they are."

Closer and closer they loomed. There were eight or ten of them, corralling us. They smelled something awful, like rotting meat.

Like death.

Suddenly there was a loud _shooo!_, and one of them fell down. An arrow was sticking out of his shoulder.

_Shooo! Shooo! Shooo!_ More arrows flew through the air and into the people. Then there was a shout of "Run! This way!"

Egon and I didn't have to be told twice. We dashed toward the voice as more of the...whatever they were were shot down.

Our rescuer was crouched behind a nearby building, armed with a longbow and a quiver of arrows. "Get in the manhole. Now!" she commanded, gesturing to the open tunnel in the street.

So the two climbed down in the depths of the street and stayed in the dark for a long time, while a battle went on above.

I didn't know what was happening. But I knew that whatever it was, was the beginning of the end.

* * *

**Does this need editing or what?**


	5. The Girl From The Sewer

**Hey, guys, it's me! A lot has happened since I posted last, but after two months, I am hopping back on the horse! Hope this turns out well…**

_Ploop. Ploop._ The sound of dripping water echoed in the cavernous drainpipe. _Ploop. Ploop._ It was starting to drive me insane. _Ploop. Ploop._ I estimated that a drop fell every three seconds. _Ploop. Ploop._ I subconsciously started counting the drips in my head. 100…200…500…1000…_Ploop._

"How long have we been down here?" I said anxiously, crossing my arms over my chest, trying to barricade myself from the chill in the air. I wished I had a jacket, but hell, it was the dead of summer. At least in my world it was.

"About ten minutes."

Okay, so it was a lot shorter than it seemed. But still, ten minutes is ten minutes too long than anyone should ever spend in a sewer. At least it wasn't too mucky. In fact, it was surprisingly dry.

"What's going on up there?" I wondered out loud. "What were those…things?"

"They were people," Egon answered simply. Then after a silent pause, he added, "At some point."

I didn't quite know what to say to that.

_Ploop. Ploop._

"But…what is going on? I just…I don't understand," I said anxiously. "We come back and everyone is just…_gone_. How can that possibly be?"

Then, Egon the Atheist looked to the sky and said, "Only God knows."

We fell into silence.

There was a thump on the grate. Then, a circle of light appeared in the ceiling, and the booted feet descended the ladder, pulling the rest of the young girl inside.

She recovered the manhole and lit down to the floor. Though it was dark, I could see her. She was small, graceful, with long legs and fingers. Her skin was tan and her short hair was dark like a raven's feathers. She wore a long sleeved white turtleneck sweater covered by a navy blue insulated vest, like the ones mountain hikers wear. She also wore scuffed black hiking boots and tight blue jeans tucked into them, and a quiver of arrows slung across her back. There was something intimidating about her chocolate brown eyes-almost blazing. As soon she spoke, I was cowered by this tiny, model-esque adolescent girl.

"Who are you people?" she demanded. "And more importantly, what the hell were you thinking, going outside and yelling like that? You're lucky I was in the area, they would have killed you!"

"Who are they?" I inquired desperately. "And who are you? Please, tell us what's going on."

The girl's brow furrowed. She looked at me, then at Egon, then at me. "Who are you?" she asked again, this time confusedly. "And how did you survive this long?"

"Survive? What are you talking about?!" I exclaimed. "Look, I don't know what's going on here. I just want to see my daughter!"

The girl was quiet, smoldering in her own confusion. She kept studying my face, as if she was trying to figure who I was. "What is your name?" she asked slowly.

"It's Jennifer. Jennifer Spengler. And this is my husband, Egon," I replied, trying to calm myself.

The girl momentarily froze, trying to plot out her next move. "Listen. You need to come with me. Right away."

She turned on her heel and began to strut through the sewer pipe. Egon and I looked at each other questioningly, then quickly followed after her.

"And who-who are you?" I asked, almost jogging to keep up with her; she walked fast.

"People call me Jet," she answered without a glance.

"Is that because you're so fast?" I said.

At this, she stopped and gave me a "what-are-you-stupid" look. "It's short for _Jetta_," she said, with a clear "duh" in her tone.

"Oh."

We walked in intense silence for five more minutes, when she stopped again. "Sh!" She listened. She cautiously loaded her bow and got ready to point it. "Show yourself!" she shouted into the darkness.

There was a ghostly silence, and then a voice shouted, "JETTA GARCIA! 'TIS I, THE GHOST OF JACK THE RIPPER! YOUR PIDDLY ARROWS SHAN'T HARMETH ME! I AM IMMORTAL! I AM OMNIPOTENT! I AM-

"-a dumbass?" Jet finished, putting the arrow back in her quiver.

The voice chucked and out of nowhere, a boy about the same age with spiky black hair and a smug expression appeared. "Aw, come on, Jetty. I think it was pretty clever."

"It's _Jet_," she corrected through gritted teeth. "And that wasn't funny. You never know if they'll find us down here."

The boy cackled. "Yeah right! Those Skinheads are too stupid to find their own feet!" Then he finally noticed Egon and me standing there. That wiped the smile right off his face. "Jet…who-?"

"I don't know, Ace. But I intend to find out," said Jet, all business.

Ace snapped his fingers. "You better take them to see Oracle. She'll know what's up."

"Where did you think I was taking them, idiot? Coney Island?"

"Aw, whydja have to mention that place? Now I want a hot dog!" said Ace, rubbing his stomach. "Say, didn't happen to snag any vittles, eh?"

"Sorry, Ace. If you're hungry, you're going to have to hunt for yourself. I got a little sidetracked saving these two from a fleet of Skinheads."

"Whoa, no way? How many didja fight off this time?" Ace said.

"I don't know, like, ten maybe? Look, we gotta go," said Jet impatiently.

"Okay. Say, I'll go tell Oracle you're a-comin'!" And with that, the boy disappeared again.

Jet rolled her eyes. "Always showing off."

"How does he do that? Just disappear like that?" I asked.

"Oh, he doesn't disappear. He just takes off running," Jet explained nonchalantly.

"What do you mean, 'takes off running'?"

Jet sighed. "You people are about to have the biggest slap in the face in your lives."

After a bit more walking, we reached a certain spot in the catacombs. A door was incoded in the wall of the tunnel. "Here we are," said Jet. "Home sweet home."

She opened the door and we followed her into a small, warm kitchen. A plump woman in her mid thirties was standing at the oven, stirring a pot of something. Without looking up, she called out, "How was hunting?"

"Patch, we got two live ones here," Jet said.

"Live ones? What are you talking ab-?" The portly woman turned and saw Egon and me. "Oh. Oh my."

"I know. Listen, I need to talk to Oracle. Is she in her room?"

"Of course," said Patch.

"Good. You watch these two, all right? Introduce them to your, eh, _special_ talents," said Jet. "They might as well find out."

"All right, Jet."

Jet walked through another door on the other side of the room and disappeared, leaving us with Patch. She gave us a kind smile. "Sit down, please. Are you hungry? I just finished making a pot of stew."

"Yes, please," I said. The smell from the stew was mouth-watering, and I realized I hadn't eaten since lunch that day.

Egon and I took seats at the table and Patch ladled up two steaming bowls of stew. I was already beginning to like this woman. "Thank you so much," I said, feeding myself a spoonful of soup. The broth was hot and thick, and was filled with bits of potato and carrot and chunks of beef. It was wonderfully warm and salty and a little bit spicy. I immediately felt fortified just after the first spoonful. "This is so delicious."

"Oh thank you," said Patch, smiling a smile as warm as the stew she served. "It's really just a bit of this and that."

"Well, I can see what Jet was talking about. Cooking like this is definitely a special talent!" I gushed.

Patch chuckled. "Well, thank you, but I'm afraid this isn't exactly what Jet was talking about."

"Oh? What did she mean then?"

Patch was quiet for a second, then picked up a knife. She contemplated it for a second…then jabbed it into her hand.

I screamed.

Patch calmly wrenched the knife out, and blood oozed of her wound-down her arm, onto the table, her clothes.

"Oh my God! Why did you do that?!" I screeched.

She ignored my alarm and instead closed her eyes as she placed her hand (the one that was not mauled) over the wound and held it there for a moment. Then she opened her eyes and took it away. I gasped.

The wound was healed.

I looked at Patch. Then I looked at Egon. "Who are these people?" I whispered, aghast.

At that moment, Jet came back in. "Oracle wants to see you now."

**Okay, I am officially a psycho. Didn't mean for that last part to get so graphic, but who cares? I'm back!**


	6. Jet

**After all this waiting, you guys deserve more than these short chapters, but hey, this is my process. But to make up for it, I'll upload more frequently, how's that? :)**

**By the way, this is a flashback from the point of view of Jet, as indicated by the chapter name. The next chapter will be back to Jennifer's POV.**

_E__verything is a blur._

_My family, my parents, my grandmother, my brother, and me, were eating dinner when it happened. There was a giant crash in the living room, and my grandmother cried, "¿Qué es eso?" What was that?_

_My father stood up. "Stay here," he said, all conviction. He left the room, and then I heard gunfire and my mother screaming, "ENRIQUE!", my father's name._

_They stormed the dining room and the leader, a cruel man with light grey eyes ordered his men "take the children". They grabbed us, my brother and me, roughly by our shoulders and shoved out of the room. More gunfire._

_I vaguely remember struggling, but only vaguely. It took half a hour for me to realize what they had done to my family. It took half an hour and one minute for us to break away from them. And it was all thanks to Oracle._


	7. Explanation Point One

Jet led us again through the rabbit warren of sewage pipes. I was still marveling at how clear they were. "It's like they've haven't been used in forever."

"Of course they haven't," said Jet. "No one uses them. The only people who need to _relieve_ themselves are us."

"But don't you have toilets?" Egon said.

"No."

"But then what do you do?" I said, not sure I wanted to know the answer.

Jet looked at me, her nose a bit rankled. "Ever hear of a chamber pot?"

"Ugh." I groaned.

We walked about twenty paces more, when Jet stopped us. "We're here."

"How do you find your way in the dark?" I said. I was full of questions, new ones popping up every second.

Jet shrugged nonchalantly. "You learn. She's waiting for you."

She opened the door.

* * *

The room itself looked fairly normal, just very…blank. It had a simple cot bed, and a couple of shelves of books.

But as for people, the room was empty.

"Hello?" I said. "Is there an Oracle in the house?"

"You called?"

I whirled around. She had just appeared.

"Did I startle you?" she said in her strange, deep voice.

"Uh…yes. Are you…Oracle?" I said.

"I am." She sat down on the bed.

Oracle was…mysterious, to say the least. She was dressed like a normal person, in jeans, tennis shoes, and a large red hoodie, but it seemed like every human bit of her was concealed. All the skin you could see was her pale chin and pink lips. The rest was hidden under that large red hood.

In other words, a mystery.

Egon and I were silent, waiting for her to speak. And after a minute, she did.

"I see you are puzzled. That's natural."

Egon and I looked at each other, then looked back. "Well…well, yes. We are. Can you…give us some answers?"

"Where shall I start?"

"Um…" Despite all the question buzzing in my head, I couldn't speak. "How about the beginning?"

The oracle seemed to think for a second. "Alright. You were in the Ghostbusters, were you not?"

"Yes," I said, taken off guard. "But what does that have to do anything?"

"It has to do with everything," she said, standing up. "Because you, Jennifer Ruth Colby Spengler, are dead."

**Mwa-ha-ha-ha-ha! Plot twist! More next time...;)**


	8. Explanation Point Two

**What did I say? 24 hours later and here it is. Damn, I'm good.**

Okay, I have heard a lot of crap in my life, from the slightly ridiculous to the completely unfathomable, but I had…_literally nothing_ to say here. _Nothing_. Nada, zip, zilch, zero, nil. Like in high school, they called me "Comeback Colby" but now, I had _nothing_. Like absolutely, positively, I could not be more specific…_nothing_.

After an exponential amount of uncomfortable silence, Egon finally (thankfully) said, "Did you say _dead_?"

"I did," said the oracle.

"How…is that possible?" said Egon slowly, his strictly logical mind trying to wrap around this.

Oracle thought for a moment. "I must start from the beginning. About two years ago..."

"_The Ghostbusters had been out of commission for a long time. They had been shut down by a secret sector of the FBI, headed by-_

"Walter Peck!" I exclaimed, finally able to speak. "He put us in prison and shut down our business. That dirty rat, is he behind all of this?!"

"No. Allow me to continue."

"_The Ghostbusters were vindicated at the advent of a terrible entity-a spirit almost worse than Satan himself."_

"Armageddon," I whispered softly. Just the name flooded me with fear. Oracle nodded.

"_The Ghostbusters fought bravely. But their tools were no match for the monster. And Armageddon wiped them out._

"_Then, with his fleets of hellhounds and wraiths, he overtook the earth and killed every human they found. Only a small amount managed to survive._

"_And now, we, the last members of humanity, hide here in the shadows."_

Oracle bowed her head at the end of this monologue in reverence.

"No…no…that's not what happened…" I said, perplexed. "We stopped him. We sent him back to the Underworld."

"No, we didn't," Egon interrupted. "The kids stopped Armageddon."

"The kids?" said Oracle.

"Yes. My daughter and some of her friends," I said, feeling a lurch in my stomach, remembering that Alice was gone.

"I don't…" Oracle fell silent for a moment, thinking. Then she said, "Ah. I now understand."

"Good. Because we sure as hell don't!" I exclaimed. "All I know is _where is my daughter_?!

"Calm down."

"I will not! Where is she?! If you're so _all-knowing_, why don't you tell me where my Alice is?!"

"Jennifer." A hand fell on my shoulder, and I realized I was shaking.

Egon pulled me close. "We will find her. I promise."

I choked back a sob.

"Now," Oracle said formally. "I believe it is getting late. The two of you need your rest."

"But-"

"All will be revealed to you in time," she said. And I knew it was final. There was something forceful in her tone.

"Alright," I whispered.

"Jet will show you where you may sleep." As if on cue, the door opened and Jet came in.

Even though her eyes were hidden under her red hood, I could feel them stare at me. "Be sure to get a good night of sleep. You will find it vital to stay in good physical condition."

"Thank you," said Egon, and following Jet, he pulled me out of the room.

* * *

"_Thank her_? For _what_?" I hissed once out of earshot. "That woman didn't give us any answers. She only gave us more questions! The most we've gotten here is a bowl of stinking soup!...Well, okay, the soup was really good, but-!"

"I know."

And that was all he said.

Jet led us to a room full of cots. "You can take those two over there. Nighty-night," she throw over her shoulder before walking out.

With nothing more to say, Egon and I lay down on our cots and went to sleep.

All night, Armageddon and images of my daughter's body haunted my dreams.


	9. It's Fate

**Happy summer, my lovelies! Now that school is over, I can get back to writing. Woo-hoo! I thank you for your patience. Now, on with the show!**

* * *

**Jet**

I knocked tentatively on Oracle's door. "It's me. Can I come in?"

"Yes."

Oracle was cross-legged on the floor, in her meditation position. "So...what's their story?" I said, anxious for answers.

"Jetta." Oracle is the only one who calls me by my full name and gets away with it. "I have Seen who they are."

"It's a trap. It must be...right?"

"No. They are very confused, and right they should be. Have you ever heard of the 'Butterfly Effect'?"

"You mean, the old 'If a butterfly flaps its wings the United States, it causes a storm in Japan' saying?" I asked.

"Yes, Jetta. That is exactly what I mean."

"What does it have to do with them?"

She got up. "Everything."

As usual, Oracle was not answering my questions. "So...do you want to explain who that woman is?"

"She is Jennifer Spengler. And that is all you need to know. The details are so baffling, even I don't quite know how to explain it."

"So the man...he's-"

"Egon Spengler, yes." She was curt. "We must protect them, Jet. They may be the key to ending this war."

"How?"

Oracle sighed. She took off her hood and rubbed her eyes. No one ever saw Oracle without her hood on. In fact, no one ever saw Oracle period. Just me.

"Two years ago...I Saw something."

"What?"

"I Saw _this_, Jet. The end. I Saw you and your brother and all the monsters out there...I Saw millions being killed and us hiding down here like rats...and then...I Saw them."

"Who?...Them? The doctor and his wife." I realized.

"Yes. And they saved us. They destroyed the monsters, and they made things right."

I was quiet for a second. "You mean..._they_ are the ones who will defeat Armageddon."

"Yes, Jet. It's fate."


	10. Our Strange New Roommates

**Jennifer**

_ It was a dream. I dreamed Egon and I messed up time and Alice disappeared. Or better yet, I dreamed I was pregnant with Egon's baby. Hell, who's Egon? I probably dreamed up the Ghostbusters too! I'm still a college student, and when I open my eyes, everything will be back to normal, and I'll laugh off this crazy, incredible dream._

I smiled to myself._ Besides, only in a dream could someone come up with such a ridiculous name as Egon!_

"What are you smiling about?"

My eyes popped open. I was laying in the canopy of a bunk bed in a _very_ forty year old body, and Egon (since he was tall enough to see over) was looking at me quizzically.

No such luck, Colby. It was not a dream.

I sighed. "Private joke. I miss anything?"

"Not exactly. But I thought you should clean up and meet everyone else."

"Everyone else?" I said, sitting up . "There's more of them?"

"Yes." He handed me some folded clothes. "They told me to give these to you."

I unfolded the clothes. Just a pair of jeans and a long-sleeved button up. "Wow. They're just my size."

"Yes. Apparently, you and Oracle wear the same."

"Huh. Weird." I climbed (with some difficulty) out of the top bunk. I was grateful for the clothes. I realized I hadn't changed since yesterday morning, which felt like years ago. I started to unbutton my work blouse from yesterday. Egon reddened and turned around.

I laughed. "Egon, you're so innocent. You don't have to turn around; we're married! Or did you forget?"

"No." He turned back around sheepishly. "It's a force of habit."

I sighed. "Scientist through and through." Just as I was buttoning my jeans, I suddenly felt funny. "Uh...where's the bathroom?"

"Right there." Egon pointed to a door.

I rushed for it. I managed to get the toilet lid up just in time and retched into the bowl. The acidic liquid gurgled up my esophagus and gushed out through my mouth. I hate throwing up. It tastes like green orange juice minus the sweetness, just the sour. "Uh," I grunted pathetically.

"Jennifer?" Egon came in behind me. "What's wrong?"

"Don't look," I moan, flushing the commode. "Morning sickness."

"Are you alright?"

"Yeah." I stood up slowly and went to the sink. I turned on the water and rinsed the horrible taste out of my mouth. Then I splashed some onto my face.

"Do you need an antiacid, or a wafer?" Egon said. Poor guy. He's never had a knocked up wife before.

"I'll be fine." I said, drying my face with a towel. Suddenly, a thought occurred to me. "Hey...how did they wrangle a working bathroom complete with sinks, toilets, and-" I peeked around the corner. "-showers?"

"You'll have to ask Wrench. He's the one who constructed it."

"'Wrench', huh?" I said, shaking my head. "These nicknames, man."

"Come on." He offered his hand. "Let's go meet the others."

* * *

"Well, well, the dead have risen." Jet was waiting outside our door. Today her outfit was a long-sleeved brown tee, capri jeans, and running shoes. She was even smaller without her puffy, insulated vest. "The rest of the team's waiting to meet you."

"How many of you are there?"

"Well, you met Oracle and Patch," she said, counting on her fingers.

"Don't remind me," I said, shuddering. I still hadn't quite shaken our last meeting with Patch.

"She's really sorry for scaring you like that," said Jet apologetically. "She's such a nice person once you get to know her. She's just...been through a lot."

"What about that other boy? Ace, or something?"

"Oh, yeah. Ace." Her voice growled a little on the word.

"I'm assuming the two of you maintain a certain degree of animosity," said Egon.

"What?!" Jet stopped, her eyes wide. Her expression reminded me of a kid caught with his hand in the cookie jar. "Nuh-uh! I don't like Ace!"

"I never implied that you did."

\ "Oh. Uh...your man talks weird. Translation please?" she said to me.

"He meant it seemed like you two don't exactly get along."

"Oh. Oh, yeah! He's like, so annoying! I hate him." She cast her eyes to the floor, not looking at me or Egon.

I shared a knowing look with Egon. _Somebody's got baaaaaad._

"So, who else is there?"

Jet looked relieved to be off the subject. "Oh, well, there's Shadow-that's my brother. And then there's Whisper and Wrench."

"Wow," I said. "That's...small."

"There's only seven of you living down here?" Egon asked.

"Yeah, well...most everyone else is dead...or worse."

I shuddered. What's worse than death?

Jet found the room she was looking for. She opened the door to what appeared to be a normal looking rec room, with a couple worn out couches, an old TV set, a table-completely normal.

I relaxed.

"Here they are," said Jet, leading us in. "The new recruits."

There were four people in the room. Two of them, a boy, who must have been Jet's brother because they looked so much alike, except that he was much taller than her, and a tall, willowy girl with long brown hair were sitting on one the couches. The boy Ace and a muscley African-American man in his late twenties-early thirties were standing by the table, looking at some blueprints of something. They all looked at me and Egon like we were some newly discovered alien life form.

"Hi," said Jet's brother, standing from the couch. The girl stood with him. He had long black hair and was wearing a black tee shirt and dark jeans. Except heighthwise, he looked every bit like his sister. "I'm Shadow. And this is Whisper." He put an arm around her shoulders.

She smiled shyly. "Hello." I could see why she was called Whisper. Her voice was so soft, I almost didn't hear her speak. She had pale skin and long limbs. But what was so eye-catching was her shiny chestnut colored hair which reached all the way down her back.

"Hey!" Ace bounded forward. "As I'm sure you remember, I'm the one, the only..." He paused for dramatic effect. "...Ace!"

"How could anyone forget you, Ace." Jet's exasperated voice was so monotone, that for a moment, I thought Janine Melnitz was in the room.

"Aw, she's just jealous that she's not as cool as me," Ace laughed.

The last man came forward. Unlike the others, he wasn't a teenager. "Hello," he said solidly, shake both our hands with a vice-like grip. He was very large, like a pro-wrestler. "I'm Wrench."

"So you're the one who built the bathroom."

He laughed a great big booming laugh. "Yes, that was me. Though, we all helped. I just did the plumbing."

"He's a handyman," said Ace.

"Really, Ace? We didn't realize." Jet rolled her eyes. Ace poked her in the stomach.

"Well, everyone," I said awkwardly. "I'm Jennifer, and this is Egon.

"Nice to meet ya," said Ace. "Since Jet here's already given you the grand tour, why don't we-"

"Actually, we haven't really seen much," I said.

"Oh? Well, by all means, step this way!" Ace lead us over to the far corner of the room, where there was a workspace covered in technological paraphernalia. "This here is my area. I'm a computer geek."

"What do you do with all this?" Egon asked. Machines-this, he could understand.

"Surveillance work, mostly." Ace turned on the monitor, which showed footage from several security cameras. "With this, we can watch every area within a one-mile radius, so that we can make sure the Skinheads aren't anywhere nearby. 'Cause if they are," Ace pointed at Jet, "she takes 'em out."

"That's how I found you yesterday," she said. "I saw you on Ace's computer."

"Uh...what are Skinheads?" I said, feeling stupid.

"Oh, that's what we call those zombie things outside that were attacking you. They're like dead bodies, but they've been possessed to do Armageddon's bidding."

"So Armageddon _is_ behind all this." I managed to suppress a shudder.

"Yeah," said Jet. "He and his Skinheads killed everyone. And I do mean everyone."

"So you're the only survivors?" I said, feeling hopeless. Alice really was gone.

"Unless there's other groups in hiding like us-yeah. This is it."

Silence.

Ace sighed. "Well...who else is hungry? Jet, how about me, you, and the newbies go hunting?"

"Hunting?" I said.

"Got to eat somehow," said Jet.

"But...hunt what?"

"Well, mostly, we hunt deer and stuff. Ever since the Incident, the animals have just sort of taken over New York. Finding game isn't too hard."

"But we also eat like, canned vegetables and stuff too," added Ace. "We're not total carnivores."

"I'm a vegetarian," said Whisper softly.

"Hunting also gives us a good chance at killing some dirty rotten Skinheads," said Ace. "Well, re-killing them," he added after a moment.

"Come on," said Jet, picking up a canvas bag with some arrows sticking out of it. "This will be a good chance for Funny Boy to show off his talent anyway. Shadow, you keep watch. Radio me if you see any Skinheads coming our way."

"Er-I'd rather stay here," said Egon.

Jet shrugged. "Suit yourself." And she walked out.

I looked at Ace. "What did she say? What talent?"

Ace just grinned.


	11. Speed

**I'm so glad to be working on my fan fiction again! I'm sorry this chapter's so graphic. It's like the Walking Dead with a little bit of Hunger Games in there. And NO, Jennifer is not a cheater, nor is she a cougar. She and Ace aren't romantically interested. Jennifer is happily married to Egon. And besides, Ace is old enough to be her son. Gross.**

* * *

"Shadow? Come in," said Jet into her walkie-talkie. "Do you read?"

There was the sound of static, and then a laugh. _Loud and clear, little sister._

The three of us had climbed out of the manhole and were now standing in the empty street. The cloudy sky was still that ominous rust color, and the city was uncannily quiet. I was glad I was wearing a long-sleeved shirt, it was a little chilly out here too.

"How's the area looking?" said Jet, looking around suspiciously.

_It looks all clear. If I see any Skinheads coming your way, I'll radio you. Roger?_

"Roger," said Jet, and she hung the phone from her belt-loop. She looked at me and Ace. "Okay. Ace, you take the Doctor's Wife and go hunt on the north side. I'll take west."

"Are you sure we should split up?" I said. I wasn't really sure if that was the best idea.

"Trust me, we'll have a better chance at getting game. Too many cooks spoil the stew." And with that little aphorism, she took off.

I looked at Ace. He shrugged. "Aw, she's always like that."

"I got that vibe." I watched Jet's retreating back until she rounded a corner and disappeared. "So. What do we do?"

"Well first, we find some poor, unsuspecting animal." Jet pulled a knife out of his pocket and handed to me. "Take this. You're gonna need it."

"Um…I've never killed an animal before," I said, taking the knife.

"Well, we gotta eat some how," said Ace, and he started walking up the street. I slipped the knife in my pocket and took off after him.

"So…you and Jet are…friends?" I asked.

He snorted. "I think she just hates everyone. But I guess I'm as close to a friend as she'll ever have."

"Why is she so…intense?"

"I don't know. When the Incident happened, she went through a lot of bad stuff. Her folks were just killed practically right in front of her. But the truth is, we all lost people. I lost my mom, my sister. Wrench lost the girl he was gonna marry someday. And Whisper lost her mother in the worst way."

"How?" I said.

Ace sighed. "Because she didn't lose her at all. She's still with us. But she's insane."

I gasped. "Oracle is Whisper's mother?"

"What? No! _Patch._ Patch is Whisper's mom. After Whisper's brother, Michael, was killed by the Skinheads, Patch kinda lost it. One minute, she's your best friend, makin' you soup, doin' your laundry…then the next…"

"Ohhhh." Poor Whisper. I felt so sorry for her now.

"But I think Oracle must have had it the worst," said Ace slowly.

I was confused. "Oracle? What's her story? Why is she so mysterious?"

"Oracle's not exactly the picture of mental health either. Nobody hardly talks to her. Jet goes in occasionally, but most of the time, she just stays locked up in that room all day, havin' visions and stuff."

"So Oracle has hallucinations?" I said. "How awful!"

He looked at me funny. "Hallucinations? Didn't Jet tell you what Oracle can do?"

"Can do? No. Does Oracle have some secret power or something?" I laughed.

"Yes," he said, in all dead seriousness.

I stopped.

He looked at me.

"What…power…" I said, slowly.

He cocked his head. "Well why do you think we call her Oracle? She's _psychic_."

"Psychic."

"Yeah."

"Like…she sees the future."

"Yeah. And she can read minds too. Freaky, huh?"

I stared at him.

He shrugged. "What?"

"_Are you messing with me right now_?" I demanded.

"No. Look, I'm sorry, I'd thought Jet had told you about us-"

"Us?" I said. "You all see the future?"

"Well, no. See, we're kind of…special."

I sat down on the curb. I didn't know what to say.

"Look. Do you remember when Jet said to me 'You can show her your talent'?"

I nodded.

"Well…I'm kind of…fast."

"Fast?"

He nodded. "Yeah."

"And…just how fast are you?"

He looked down the street and pointed. "Do you see that rose bush down there?"

I turned my head to look. "Yeah, but what-"

I was interrupted by a whoosh sound, and my hair was wafted by a sudden rush of wind. "Here."

I looked up. Ace was standing over me. He was holding something in his hand: a pink rose.

I cautiously took it. "You…you just ran over there?" I looked back. The rose bush was at least 100 yards away.

"Yeah." He said, putting his hands in his pockets.

I stared at the rose in wonder. "What-"

"ACE!"

I looked up in alarm. Jet's cry had come from the distance.

"Oh no." Ace looked worried. "Come on." He helped me up.

"What was that?!" I said.

"Skinheads," he said simply. He squatted down. "Here. Get on my back."

"What?"

"There's no time!" he exclaimed. "Just get on my back!"

I quickly climbed onto the teenager like a horse rider, my legs straddling the small of his back, and my hands clutching his shoulders. He stood up with surprising strength, considering that he was kind of a slender fellow. He grabbed my legs for extra support. I was a Jennifer backpack.

"Get ready," he said. And then he took off running.

Running at superspeed was like nothing I had ever experienced before. Out of my peripheral vision, the buildings we passed were multicolored blurs. It felt more like I was flying rather than riding piggyback on some kid's back.

He ran for what seemed like ten seconds, then suddenly we were stopped. He set me down gently on the sidewalk next to a building. "Stay here," he said, whipped out a knife like mine, and took off around the corner.

I peeked around the corner after him.

It was a whole mob of Skinheads, way more than Egon and I had encountered. There was easily thirty of them. And all surrounding-

"ACE! HELP!" Jet was caught in the middle of them. She only had her bow and arrows, which were only helpful at long range. In other words, she was defenseless.

"Get away from her!" Ace shouted, knife at the ready. He slashed left and right, but there were just too many to handle.

I pulled the knife out of my pocket slowly. I looked at its sharp edge.

_Stay here_, Ace had said.

"Screw it," I muttered. I jumped up and raced over.

"Uh!" I grunted as I buried my knife in one's back and cleaved it back out. The monster turned around. I was momentarily caught off guard by the face.

The person it once had been was a big man with dark hair and a beard, both touched with gray. He was wearing a tattered flannel plaid shirt and old jeans. _Who was he before? A lumberjack, maybe?_

"Jennifer, get it in the head!" Ace's yell caught me off guard. I sprang to and jabbed my knife (it was sharp) into the lumberjack's skull and yanked it out. It roared and fell to my feet. The corpse twitched and then lay still.

"You gotta get them in the head, it's the only way to kill 'em!" Ace shouted, stabbing another one.

I stared at the Skinhead's body. _Oh my God, I just killed a person._

"Jennifer! Look out!"

I snapped my head. There was another one barreling toward me. I didn't even give myself time to see its face, I just used the knife and sliced into it. And another, and another. and another…

Pretty soon, they were all laying on the ground, our knife-wounds carved into their scalps.

Jet was breathing heavily. She looked at Ace. "Thank…you."

"Are you okay?" he said anxiously, looking her over. "Did they hurt you?"

"No. No, I'm fine." Jet pulled away from him and looked at the ground.

The walkie-talkie buzzed. _Jet! Jet! Oh my God, are you okay?!_

Jet grabbed the phone and spoke into it. "Yeah. They're gone."

Ace looked at me. "We should go back."

I nodded silently, and stared at the lumberjack I had just killed.


End file.
